Maintaining The Row Leather, Suede and Raffia Bags in Good Order
What you notice first about one of these bags is what it does not have. Nothing to protect: no logo plaque, no coated canvas to wipe down, no heavy hardware taking the knocks. What you get in exchange is exposed surface: calfskin showing its grain, lambskin linings, suede that marks at the smallest provocation, and a summer raffia weave with no seal on it. Almost all of the care burden of The Row bags belongs to the material itself. Simple to look after, unforgiving when you get it wrong.
Material is the organising principle here, because that is how the decisions actually break down. A grained calfskin tote and a suede top handle from one season want opposite treatment, and a sisal bag needs something different again.
A necessary caveat on care instructions
The Row issues no public care protocol for its bags. There is no manual, no published cleaning chart and no brand-approved product line sold alongside them. This is material-appropriate general guidance, built on how calfskin, lambskin, suede, canvas and raffia behave, not on instructions issued by the label. Handle it as a good leather specialist would: cautiously, conservatively, and biased toward doing less. Anyone offering a definitive brand-issued cleaning routine for these bags is filling a gap, not quoting a source. Where the piece matters to you, ask a professional before you apply anything at all.
The routine that matters more than anything on a shelf
Everyday handling is where most damage to a good bag starts, which makes the fixes behavioural. The most common mistake, especially with the Margaux and the Park Tote, is overfilling, which is also the fastest way to distort a soft silhouette. The belted side gussets on the Soft Margaux exist so you can adjust the shape, not so you can force more into it. Leather is dried and faded by sun, with https://laurentbags.com/tote-bags/ radiators and car dashboards accelerating both. On unfinished surfaces, rain does more damage than most people expect, and neither suede nor raffia has much defence against it. Keeping a bag out of sun, heat and water achieves more than any product on a shelf.
- Take everything out before you store it, including receipts and anything that can transfer colour.
- Never leave a soft bag hanging by its handles for long, because the drop stretches.
- Corral pens, keys and cosmetics into a pouch rather than loose against the lining.
- Handle pale calfskin and untreated suede only with washed hands.
Calfskin, from smooth to polished saddle
The backbone of the line, calfskin, is also the most forgiving material in it. Where smooth calfskin shows scuffs and shine, matte grained calfskin hides them, and polished saddle leather sits between them. Routine care stops at a soft dry cloth after use, worked with the grain, with attention to the corners and base where dirt collects. Neutral conditioner is fine sparingly and infrequently, and both words matter, tested first on a hidden panel. An over-conditioned hide darkens unevenly, turns tacky and loses the structure you want to keep. Dark denim also transfers dye onto pale calfskin, so keep light bags away from indigo, and never scrub a transferred mark, since scrubbing spreads it.
Inside jobs: nappa and lambskin
Nappa and lambskin show up more as linings than exteriors, which alters how protection works. The Margaux Shoulder is lined in lambskin and the Bourse Clutch pairs a calfskin exterior with a nappa lining, so the softest thing in the bag is what your keys lie against. Each is exceptionally soft, each marks easily, and neither one responds to being worked on. A dry soft cloth and nothing else is the correct answer, used lightly and rarely. Skip conditioner entirely, because the hides are already supple, and over-treatment leaves a greasy sheen that never comes out. Protection here means a pouch, not a product.
Suede: the most demanding material in the line
A consistent premium attaches to suede at this label and calls for a matching increase in care. The observed 2026 market prices make the gap plain: India 10.00 sits at $3,850 in leather against $5,370 in suede, and Agnes 15 is $5,000 in leather against $5,800 in suede. That premium buys nap — which flattens, absorbs and stains more readily than any finished hide. Most owners miss the key point: suede is cared for mechanically, not chemically. A dedicated suede brush, used gently in one direction, lifts the nap and clears surface dust, and and that on its own covers most routine wear. Beyond that, hand it to a professional.
- Brush lightly after each wear, going with the nap instead of scrubbing against it.
- A wet bag should dry naturally at room temperature, well away from radiators and hairdryers, then brush it once it has dried completely.
- Work dry marks away with a suede eraser and the lightest pressure.
- Leave anything oily, coloured or set alone — it belongs with a leather specialist.
Leather cream, conditioner, wet wipes, soap and water-based cleaners are all banned from suede — the list is short and absolute. Matted nap or a ring that shows in every light is the result. Over a year, regular brushing beats any treatment, which makes prevention rather than repair the realistic standard.
The unserviceable materials: raffia, sisal, canvas, nylon, silk and satin
Of everything the brand uses, these are the least serviceable, and buy them knowing it. Because the sisal family and the woven raffia and linen totes are not tanned surfaces, there is nothing to condition and no way to refinish a stained panel. Hard scrubbing and solvents will distort the weave and leave a clean patch that reads as damage, despite how well both wear. Silk and satin pieces — the small evening bags and knotted crossbody shapes among them — mark permanently from water and skin oils. Spot-clean with a barely damp cloth and blot quickly — and that is the whole of home treatment for these materials. Because there is no repair to fall back on, keep them out of the rain and away from sunscreen.
| Surface | Everyday care | Never |
|---|---|---|
| Calfskin in grained and smooth form | Buff with a soft dry cloth; neutral conditioner used sparingly and rarely | Conditioning frequently, or soaking a stain |
| Nappa or lambskin | A dry, soft cloth, used with light pressure | Conditioner and cream alike |
| Suede surfaces | A suede brush and eraser; a professional for stains | Cream, soap, wet wipes, water-based cleaners |
| Raffia and sisal, canvas and nylon | Spot-clean, then blot; dry in the air | Dunking, solvents, or scrubbing hard |
| Satin and silk | Professional care only, and keep dry | Home cleaning of any kind |
Hardware, linings and the bits people forget
What needs protecting is the finish: the hardware is palladium-plated with a matte or brushed surface. Metal polish exists to create shine, and it will burnish a deliberately soft surface into something that no longer matches the bag. Give buckles and feet a wipe with a dry cloth, and dry them whenever they get wet, keeping moisture out of the join. Buckles and base feet on the Margaux are engraved, and those recesses trap dust that a soft brush clears better than a cloth. Cotton herringbone linings, as used in the Soft Margaux 10 and 12, should be vacuumed out rather than washed. Because catching a loose thread early costs a small repair instead of a large one, give the stitching at the handle roots an occasional look.
Storage between wears
Quiet deterioration is a storage problem, and the fix is cheap. The dust bag it came with is the right home, with just enough stuffing to hold the shape and not stretch the sides. Use acid-free tissue, or a soft cotton scarf; newspaper does not, since the ink transfers. Store bags upright on a shelf rather than stacked under others, since the silhouettes hold shape empty and give way under weight. The space should be dark, dry and ventilated, and steer clear of sealed plastic boxes, which trap humidity against leather. Rotating what you carry matters more than owners expect, because time off lets a bag recover its form.
The point at which it goes to a specialist
Crossing the maintenance-to-restoration line at home is how good row handbags are ruined, and that line is clear enough. A leather specialist should take anything involving colour loss, ink, oil, water rings on suede or a stretched handle. Structural work is the same, from loose stitching at a stress point to a lining torn away from its seam. Ask whether the specialist has handled unlogoed luxury calfskin, since what works on coated canvas does not transfer. Expect a good one to test discreetly and to tell you when a mark cannot be lifted cleanly, because some marks on untreated hide never will be. The resale discount from a botched home attempt outweighs the price of one competent intervention.